Plants having one or more enhanced yield-related traits and a method for making the same

Abstract

Provided is a method for enhancing one or more yield-related traits in a plant by modulating expression in the plant of a nucleic acid encoding an ANAC055 ( Arabidopsis No Apical Meristem, Arabidopsis Transcription Factor, Cup-shaped Cotyledon) polypeptide. Also provided are plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding an ANAC055 polypeptide, which plants have one or more enhanced yield-related traits compared with control plants. Further provided are hitherto unknown ANAC055-encoding nucleic acids, and constructs comprising the same, useful in performing the method.

1 . A method for enhancing one or more yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid encoding a ANAC055 polypeptide, wherein said nucleic acid is operably linked to a constitutive promoter of plant origin, and wherein said ANAC055 polypeptide comprises one or more of the motifs represented by SEQ ID NO: 109 to 112, and enhancing one or more-yield-related traits of said plant compared to control plants. 
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said ANAC055 polypeptide comprises:
 a. all of the following motifs:
 (i) Motif 1 represented by SEQ ID NO: 109, 
 (ii) Motif 2 represented by SEQ ID NO: 110, 
 (iii) Motif 3 represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, 
 (iv) Motif 4 represented by SEQ ID NO: 112, 
   or   b. any 4, 3 or 2 of the motifs 1 to 4 as defined under a.); or   c. Motif 1 or motif 2 or motif 3 or motif 4 as defined under a.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said polypeptide is encoded by a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of:
 (i) a nucleic acid represented by SEQ ID NO: 1;   (ii) the complement of a nucleic acid represented by SEQ ID NO: 1;   (iii) a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide as represented by SEQ ID NO: 2, and further preferably confers one or more enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants;   (iv) a nucleic acid having, in increasing order of preference, at least 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity with the nucleic acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1, and further preferably conferring one or more enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants.   (v) a nucleic acid molecule which hybridizes to the complement of a nucleic acid molecule of (i) to (iv) under stringent hybridization conditions and preferably confers one or more enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants;   (vi) a nucleic acid encoding said polypeptide having, in increasing order of preference, at least 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence represented by (any one of) SEQ ID NO: 2 and preferably conferring one or more enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants; and   (vii) a nucleic acid comprising any combination(s) of features of (i) to (vi) above.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said nucleic acid encoding a ANAC055 encodes any one of the polypeptides listed in Table A or is a portion of such a nucleic acid, or a nucleic acid capable of hybridising with a complementary sequence of such a nucleic acid. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said nucleic acid sequence encodes an orthologue or paralogue of any of the polypeptides given in Table A. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said nucleic acid is operably linked to a medium strength constitutive promoter of plant origin, more preferably to a GOS2 promoter, most preferably to a GOS2 promoter from rice. 
     
     
         7 . A plant, or part thereof, or plant cell, obtainable by a method according to  claim 1 , wherein said plant, plant part or plant cell comprises a recombinant nucleic acid encoding said ANAC055 polypeptide. 
     
     
         8 . A construct comprising:
 (i) a nucleic acid encoding an ANAC055 as defined in  claim 1 ;   (ii) one or more control sequences capable of driving expression of the nucleic acid sequence of (i) wherein one of said control sequences is a constitutive promoter of plant origin; and optionally   (iii) a transcription termination sequence.   
     
     
         9 . The construct according to  claim 8 , wherein said constitutive promoter of plant origin, is a medium strength constitutive promoter of plant origin, more preferably a GOS2 promoter, most preferably a GOS2 promoter from rice. 
     
     
         10 . A host cell, a bacterial host cell, or an  Agrobacterium  species host cell comprising the construct according to  claim 8 . 
     
     
         11 . A method for making plants having one or more enhanced yield-related traits, increased seed yield and/or increased biomass relative to control plants, comprising transforming the construct of  claim 8  into a plant, plant part or plant cell. 
     
     
         12 . A plant, plant part or plant cell transformed with the construct according to  claim 8 . 
     
     
         13 . A method for the production of a transgenic plant having one or more enhanced yield-related traits compared to control plants, comprising:
 (i) introducing and expressing in a plant cell or plant a nucleic acid encoding an ANAC055 polypeptide as defined in  claim 1  wherein said nucleic acid is operably linked to a constitutive promoter of plant origin; and   (ii) cultivating said plant cell or plant under conditions promoting plant growth and development.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said one or more enhanced yield-related traits are selected from the group consisting of increased biomass, increased seed yield, increase early vigour, and increased number of florets per panicle relative to control plants. 
     
     
         15 . A transgenic plant having one or more enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, resulting from modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding an ANAC055 polypeptide as defined in  claim 1 , or a transgenic plant cell derived from said transgenic plant. 
     
     
         16 . The transgenic plant according to  claim 15 , or a transgenic plant cell derived therefrom, wherein said plant is a crop plant, or wherein said plant is a dicotyledonous crop plant, a monocotyledonous crop plant, or a cereal crop plant, or wherein said plant is beet, sugarbeet, alfalfa, sugarcane, rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet, rye, triticale,  sorghum , emmer, spelt, einkorn, teff, milo or oats. 
     
     
         17 . Harvestable parts of the plant according to  claim 15 , wherein said harvestable parts are preferably shoot and/or root biomass and/or seeds. 
     
     
         18 . A product derived from the plant according to  claim 15  and/or from harvestable parts of said plant. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A method for manufacturing a product comprising the steps of growing the plant according to  claim 15 , and producing said product from or by said plant or parts thereof, including seeds. 
     
     
         21 . A recombinant chromosomal DNA comprising the construct according to  claim 8 . 
     
     
         22 . A composition comprising the construct of  claim 8 , and a recombinant chromosomal DNA comprising said construct, or a host cell or a plant cell comprising said construct or said recombinant chromosomal DNA.